Bottle Closure and Security Device in the Form of a Metal Screw Stopper With Prolonged Ring and Overlying Decorated Plastic Capsule

ABSTRACT

The device serves for closing bottles having an externally threaded circular mouth, and comprises a metal screw stopper ( 14 ) with ring of prolonged type, and a capsule ( 26 ) or tubular element ( 26 A) of heat-shrinkable plastic. The capsule ( 26 ) or tubular element ( 26 A) covers not only at least substantially the entire lateral surface of the actual screw stopper ( 16 ), but also at least the upper part of the prolonged ring ( 20 ). The capsule ( 26 ) or tubular element ( 26 A) is fixed to the metal stopper ( 14 ) with prolonged ring both in correspondence with the actual screw stopper ( 16 ) and in correspondence with the prolonged ring ( 20 ), so that a trace thereof remains when the capsule ( 26 ) or the tubular element ( 26 A) is removed. In addition to constituting a guarantee against tampering, the outer surface of the capsule ( 26 ) or tubular element ( 26 A) can present required colorations and/or writings and/or brand names and/or designs and or reliefs, at a cost decidedly lower than if these latter were formed directly on the metal stopper ( 14 ).

The present invention relates to a closure device for bottles having anexternally threaded circular mouth, and comprising a metal screw stopperof the type provided with a lower ring which—in contrast to commonsecurity rings for screw stoppers, which have a very small verticalextension (hereinafter known as “common security rings”), which onlyjust covers a circular undercut provided on the bottle neck—extendssignificantly downwards (hereinafter known as “prolonged ring”), wellbeyond said undercut, to hence cover a substantial part of the bottleneck.

An aluminium closure device of this type (i.e. with a prolonged securityring), known for at least 30 years, is produced by the French companyPechiney and known by the brand name STELVIN or STELCAP. In this closuredevice the prolonged security ring (as in the case of common securityrings for screw stoppers) form one piece with the screw stopper itselfvia a series of angularly equidistant connection teeth, obtained byforming coplanar circular slits of equal angular extension in thedevice, which define said teeth. These teeth tear on unscrewing thescrew stopper because the security ring is unable to follow the movementof the actual stopper consequent on its unscrewing, as the ring adheresto said undercut. Consequently, if said teeth are found not to beintegral, this indicates that the bottle has been previously opened,while the presence of integral teeth is the proof that the bottlecontents have not been violated.

As stated in WO2004/039686A1, the proprietor of which is the same as ofthe present application, it can happen that said teeth (of rings both ofthe common type and of the prolonged type) can tear on applying thebottle closure device, so that it no longer constitutes a guarantee.Moreover if distracted, the consumer may not notice that this closuredevice has been violated. In this respect, a person wishing to tamperwith the said closure device, for example to alter the bottle contentsor to abusively refill an already emptied bottle (possible with a lessvaluable liquid or even with a noxious product), the person could makethe two sets of lacerated tooth fragments (one on the ring and one onthe actual stopper) coincide, this being easily achieved by suitablyrotating the ring after fully tightening the stopper. In this case inunscrewing the stopper, an inattentive consumer would probably notnotice that the bottle has been tampered with.

It should also be noted that for a long time there have existed metalscrew stoppers with a prolonged security ring having its outer surfacevariously coloured and/or presenting writings and/or designs and/orbrand names and the like (hereinafter, for simplicity the term“decorations” will be used in this respect, this all-inclusive term toinclude all of the aforesaid), this however considerably increasingproduction costs.

This result is obtained starting from a circular aluminium sheet ofsuitable thickness (possibly pre-treated with a primer) which is deepdrawn to obtain an element roughly in the form of an inverted cup, therequired decorations (in the aforestated sense) then being applied tothe outer surface of this deep-drawn element, a complicated and costlyoperation. To obtain the screw stopper with a prolonged ring, thecup-shaped metal element obtained in this manner (already provided withknurling facilitating unscrewing, with cuts forming the tearable teeth,and with an upper groove enabling the internal seal gasket to beapplied) is then drawn over the end of the relative bottle withexternally threaded mouth and then, using conventional threadingtechniques, is made to adhere to the bottle both by forming on thestopper a thread matching that of the mouth, and by making the prolongedring adhere to the undercut and to the relative part of the bottle neck.

If decorations are to be obtained only on the upper circular surface ofthe screw stopper with prolonged ring, a variant of the aforedescribedprocedure is used, by which only the central part of the circularstarting sheet is initially decorated, i.e. that which, followingdeep-drawing, will become the upper central surface of the stopper, thesubsequent steps being identical to those of the previous procedure.Although less costly than the preceding, this second method is still ofhigh cost, which has to be added to the already high basic cost of thistype of closure device. This means that to be able to use a screwstopper of this type at a cost which does not exceed marketable cost,high production must be guaranteed.

An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a closuredevice, comprising a screw stopper with prolonged ring, which makes anytampering evident.

Another object is to provide a closure device of the aforesaid typewhich is provided with decorations at least on its outer lateralsurface, but also if required on the upper surface of the stopper, at acost decidedly less than that in the case of known closure devices ofthis type; or, in other words, which has a commercially acceptable costeven if the number of pieces to be produced is not particularly high.

Before describing how said object is attained, it should be noted thatfrom WO2004/039686A1 it is known to cover a screw stopper withoutsecurity ring with a capsule or a tubular element of plastic material ormetal foil, the capsule or tubular element extending below the loweredge of the screw stopper and being made to adhere to the bottle neck.Consequently to gain access to the bottle contents the capsule ortubular element must be torn, hence these latter themselves constitutethe security device, their tearing not being able to pass unobserved andbeing easily achieved by any consumer, especially if appropriate meansare provided which, besides facilitating this tearing, make anyunscrewing of the stopper evident. These means are for example the wellknown tear-off tab, or weakened lines or regions provided in the capsuleor tubular element (for example obtained by a series of throughperforations or slits). The tubular element or capsule covers only thelateral surface of the screw stopper and part of the bottle neck, butnot the circular upper surface of the screw stopper. If the capsule ortubular element is of plastic, this latter is of heat-shrinkable type,so that optimal adherence of the capsule or tubular element to the screwstopper and to the bottle neck are obtained by simply heating. Forfurther details reference should be made to the text of WO2004/039686A1.Using the teachings of this latter, the drawbacks of closure devices inthe form of a screw stopper with a common security ring have beenovercome, these drawbacks also being stated in WO2004/039686A1.

Returning to the initially stated object, this is attained by theclosure device of the present invention, comprising:

a metal screw stopper with ring of prolonged type;

a capsule or tubular element of heat-shrinkable plastic;

characterised in that the capsule or tubular element covers not only atleast substantially the entire lateral surface of the actual screwstopper, but also at least the upper part of the prolonged ring, andthat the capsule or tubular element is fixed to the metal stopper withprolonged ring both in correspondence with the actual screw stopper andin correspondence with the prolonged ring, so that a trace thereofremains when the capsule or tubular element is removed.

Conveniently, this fixing between the capsule or tubular element and themetal stopper is obtained by using a suitable glue. It will be apparentthat the connection obtained between the screw stopper and capsule ortubular element by heat-shrinkage alone is not sufficient to guaranteeno tampering. In fact, under such conditions the tamperer could removethe capsule or tubular element and sell the bottle without this aftertampering with the bottle contents. The use of a suitable glue (forexample) means that if the capsule or tubular element is removed,residues of glue or even of the capsule or tubular element remain, sodemonstrating tampering.

The second aforesaid object is attained by the closure device of thepresent invention, wherein the outer surface of the capsule or tubularelement presents required colorations and/or writings and/or brand namesand/or designs and or reliefs, i.e. the aforesaid “decorations”.

Although the aforespecified closure device comprises one piece (thecapsule or tubular element of heat-shrinkable plastic) more than thetraditional metal stopper with a prolonged ring carrying “decorations”on its outer surface, the fact that it is the added capsule or tubularelement which carries these “decorations” means that production costscan be significantly reduced, so making the device of the presentinvention also competitive for production runs comprising a relativelysmall number of pieces. In this respect, the formation of “decorations”on a plastic capsule or tubular element is much less costly than in thecase of traditional “decorated” metal screw stoppers with a prolongedring. In contrast to these latter, the device of the invention offersmaximum guarantee against tampering (as previously explained).

As will be apparent, the aforespecified solution is of extremesimplicity, such as to seem banal to a non-expert of the art. Howeverremembering that the bottle closure device of STELVIN or STELCAP brandhas existed for decades, and the fact that it is decidedly costly (sothat the expert of the art had an incentive to find more economicalsolutions), and that plastic capsules or tubular elements for bottleshave also been used for decades, it must be recognized that the solutionof the present invention is not obvious.

With regard to the procedure for applying the closure device of thepresent invention to a bottle with an externally threaded mouth, theprocedure described in WO2004/039686A1 can be conveniently applied.Specifically, a unit is produced consisting of the deep-drawn metalelement of inverted cup-shaped—which (after threading) gives rise to themetal screw stopper with prolonged ring—and a capsule or tubular elementof heat-shrinkable plastic previously glued to the deep-drawn metalelement both in correspondence with the actual stopper and incorrespondence with the prolonged ring—with the capsule or tubularelement possibly presenting the required “decorations”—already mountedon the deep-drawn metal element. Consequently the user can apply thisunit directly to the threaded-mouthed bottle using usual equipment andmachines, to then proceed to the threading and possible heat shrinkageof the capsule or tubular element (as explained in WO2004/039686A1), alloperations which can be carried out by known automatic high productivitymachines (for example those utilized for applying the screw stopper ofthe brand name STELVIN or STELCAP). As the application of the capsule ortubular element involves heat-shrinkage, in designing the “decorations”to be present on the capsule account must be taken of the consequentdimension variations.

The invention will be more apparent from the ensuing description of twoembodiments thereof given by way of example. In this descriptionreference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an axial vertical section through a deep-drawn metal elementfrom which a screw stopper with a prolonged ring is obtained;

FIG. 2 is an axial vertical section through a heat-shrinkable plasticcapsule to be superposed on the deep-drawn element of FIG. 1, thecapsule not yet having been subjected to final heat shrinkage and havingdimensions which enable it, after final heat shrinkage, to entirelycover the actual screw stopper and the entire lateral surface of theprolonged ring;

FIG. 3 is an axial vertical section through a bottle neck withexternally threaded mouth, to which a device of the present invention,obtained using the deep-drawn element of FIG. 1 and the capsule of FIG.2, has already been applied;

FIG. 4 shows a tubular element of heat-shrinkable plastic, used if onlythe lateral surface of the screw stopper and the relative prolonged ringare to be covered;

FIG. 5 is similar to FIG. 3, but with the difference that the closuredevice shown therein is provided with the tubular element of FIG. 4.

It should be noted that in the figures the thicknesses are shown greaterthan the actual thicknesses for reasons of clarity.

As already stated, the closure device of the present invention is formedstarting from a circular metal sheet (for example of aluminium) ofsuitable diameter, which is then deep-drawn in traditional manner toobtain an element of inverted cup-shaped such as that indicated by 10 inFIG. 1, already presenting coplanar circular cuts to define conventionaltearable teeth 18. When mounted about the upper end of a bottle providedwith an externally threaded mouth (such as that the neck 12 of which isshown in vertical cross-section in FIG. 3), conventional threading orscrewing techniques are used to give rise to a metal screw stopper witha prolonged ring, this combination being indicated by 14 in said figure.By these techniques the thread is formed in the actual stopper(indicated by 16) and this latter is made to adhere to the annularundercut 24 (FIG. 3) with which standard bottles with a screw stopperare provided, the ring 20 extending considerably downwards (as in thecase of the said screw closure device known by the brand name STELVIN orSTELCAP) and adhering to the bottle neck 12. The ring 20 is consequentlyconnected to the actual stopper 16 by conventional angularly equidistantteeth (not shown in detail in the figures for simplicity, given thatthey are universally known), to be torn when the actual stopper 16 isunscrewed.

The deep-drawn element 10 can be of any colour and hence “featureless”,however if considered opportune the circular starting sheet from whichit is obtained can be “decorated” (in the previously specified sense),in particular limited to its central part which is to become the uppercircular surface 22 (FIG. 1) firstly of the deep-drawn element 10 andthen of the stopper 16 (especially if the solution of FIG. 5 is used, aswill be seen hereinafter).

As can be seen from FIG. 3, over the stopper-ring combination 14 aplastic capsule is provided, shown in its heat-shrunk condition andindicated by 26, which in this specific case adheres to the entire outersurface (including the circular upper surface) of the actual stopper 16and of the prolonged ring 20, this latter because the plastic capsule 26is provided with a so-called circular “endpiece” 28, which however couldalso be lacking. Before undergoing heat shrinkage, the capsule 26 is asin FIG. 2, where it is indicated by 30, this figure showing that itcomprises a slightly downwardly flared skirt 32 with its upper edgeslightly turned to enable the endpiece 28 to be fixed to it.

Instead of using the capsule 26, possibly without the endpiece 28, thetubular element 30A could be used to obtain the closure device shown inFIG. 5, from which it can be seen that the tubular element 26A (afterfinal heat shrinkage) covers only the lateral surface of thestopper-ring combination 14, the tubular element 26A not even reachingthe upper edge of the stopper 16.

As already stated, a unit is formed composed of the deep-drawn element10 on which the capsule 30 or tubular element 30A is superposed and thenheat-shrunk, the two parts of this unit being glued together in at leastone point in correspondence with the actual screw stopper 16 and in atleast one point in correspondence with the prolonged ring 20, to prevent(as security against tampering) their wrongful separation withoutleaving traces. The bottler, on receiving this unit, can convenientlyuse said conventional automatic high productivity machines to obtain thedevice of the present invention.

Variations of the aforedescribed closure device can be produced. Inparticular, to obtain particular aesthetic effects, the capsule 26 ortubular element 26A can stop slightly above the lower edge of theprolonged ring 20; or the capsule or tubular element can pass beyondthis lower edge, to consequently make contact with the relative part ofthe bottle neck. These variants are not shown in the drawings as theyare totally evident on reading the preceding description and examiningthe accompanying figures.

The capsule 26 or tubular element 26A (as in the case of common capsulesor common tubular elements of heat-shrinkable plastic) could be madedifficult to tear without using for example a knife or other implement.However as stated, plastic capsules or tubular elements can be usedprovided with means for facilitating their tearing and indicating anytampering, or presenting at least one weakened region (in particularbecause of the presence of perforations or through slits), so that thecapsule or tubular element tears easily in these regions on unscrewingthe screw stopper, so making bottle tampering evident.

Although totally evident, it should be noted that said required“decorations” are present on the outer surface of the tubular element orcapsule, on the skirt 32 and (if present) on the endpiece 28.Consequently the closure device of the present invention enables said“decorations” to be provided at low cost on a metal screw stopper with aprolonged ring, while at the same time providing maximum securityagainst tampering.

Finally, it should be noted that although the STELVIN or STELCAP closuredevice must be produced in high quantity in order to achieve acommercially acceptable cost, the device of the present invention has anacceptable cost even if produced in considerably lesser quantity, henceeven relatively small bottlers are able to use it.

1. A closure device for bottles having an externally threaded circularmouth, and comprising: a metal screw stopper (14) with ring of prolongedtype; a capsule (26) or tubular element (26A) of heat-shrinkableplastic; characterised in that the capsule (26) or tubular element (26A)covers not only at least substantially the entire lateral surface of theactual screw stopper (16), but also at least the upper part of theprolonged ring (20), and that the capsule (26) or tubular element (26A)is fixed to the metal stopper (14) with prolonged ring both incorrespondence with the actual screw stopper (16) and in correspondencewith the prolonged ring (20), so that a trace thereof remains when thecapsule (26) or the tubular element (26A) is removed.
 2. A closuredevice as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fixing between the capsule(26) or tubular element (26A) and the metal stopper (14) is obtained byusing a suitable glue.
 3. A closure device as claimed in claim 1,wherein the outer surface of the capsule (26) or tubular element (26A)presents required colorations and/or writings and/or brand names and/ordesigns and or reliefs.
 4. A closure device as claimed in claim 1,wherein the capsule (26) comprises a skirt (32) and an endpiece (28)which upperly closes the skirt (32).
 5. A closure device as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the capsule comprises only a skirt (32).
 6. A closuredevice as claimed in claim 1, wherein the capsule (26) or the tubularelement (26A), after being heat-shrunk, is slightly withdrawn from thelower edge of the prolonged ring (20).
 7. A closure device as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the capsule (26) or the tubular element (26A), afterbeing heat-shrunk, passes beyond the lower edge of the prolonged ring(20).
 8. A closure device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the capsule(26) or the tubular element (26A) is provided with means whichfacilitate its tearing.
 9. A closure device as claimed in claim 8,wherein the means which facilitate tearing of the capsule (26) or of thetubular element (26A) comprise a tear-off tab.
 10. A closure device asclaimed in claim 8, wherein the means which facilitate tearing of thecapsule (26) or of the tubular element (26A) comprise at least oneregion in which the capsule (26) or the tubular element (26A) isweakened, in order to tear on unscrewing the actual stopper (16).
 11. Aclosure device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the at least one weakenedregion is obtained by providing one or more series of throughperforations in the capsule (26) or in the tubular element (26A).